EUGENE - Saturday's Pacific-12 Conference showdown between No. 3 Stanford and No. 6 Oregon is being billed by many as a clash of styles, with the Cardinal possessing the rough and tumble running game in contrast to the finesse and speed of the Ducks' ground attack.

Oregon running back LaMichael James has heard enough of such talk.

"I take it personally," he said. "I really do. We're going to be aggressive come Saturday. It's not like I'm trash talking. I'm sure they're going to be aggressive, too, that day. They're an aggressive team. But what team in college football is not aggressive, ya know? We're not a finesse team. We just have fast players. So I guess that's the difference."

View full sizeBruce Ely / The OregonianOregon Ducks running back LaMichael James (21) scores the first TD as The University of Oregon faces the University of Washington at Husky Stadium.

Oregon (8-1, 6-0 Pac-12) leads the conference in rushing at 298.4 yards per game. Stanford ranks second at 224.7 yards per game. Their styles differ.

The Cardinal offense operates mostly from pro-style formation, typically with a fullback and one, sometimes two or three tight ends. Oregon operates out of the spread look with no fullback and a tight end aligned away from the linemen.

The truth is, Oregon uses more so-called finesse running plays in that the Ducks employ the option and plenty of misdirection in their running game, choosing to spread out defenders to create space that has resulted in an average per carry this season of 7.4 yards.

Stanford (9-0, 7-0) is more content to pound the ball straight-ahead into the defense and has averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

But line play is line play and Oregon has always prided itself on being physical at the point of attack even if it does so with fewer players.

The average size of Stanford’s starting offensive linemen is 6-foot-5, 303 pounds. Oregon’s is 6-5, 301.8.